20 years of caring for People, Places and our Planet.

For more than two decades now, we’ve changed the relationship between our industry and our most important asset: the planet. Discover how our expertise, support and pragmatic advice has helped thousands of businesses start positive green journeys that are fit for the 21st Century and hear from those who have experienced our development programmes and earned one of our internationally respected awards.

About

Award Holders

A Green Tourism Award demonstrates a commitment towards…

People

Award holders champion investment and improvement in their local community. Typically, they use their time, energy and a proportion of their revenue to build stronger communities and brighter futures. When staff teams are respected and valued, in turn they will add authenticity to the warm welcome offered to guests.

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Places

Award holders conserve the local economy by introducing guests to genuine experiences and by their commitment to sourcing produce sustainably and ethically. They are proud to promote the very best their destination has to offer and encourage guests to participate in a variety of local cultural and natural experiences.

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Our Planet

Award holders are committed to a low carbon future and finding new ways to reduce their footprint. As we strive to overcome excessive global warming, they are passionate about the circular economy, ecological and cultural diversity and ensuring efficient use of our planet’s resources.

Green Stories

“Green Tourism fits well with the ethos of the BMA and offers a good framework to put the green wheels in motion. In 2012 a Green Team was set up across the organisation with the intention of greening the building and setting up best practice, no mean feat given their Grade II listed status.

They undertook projects such as upgrading lighting to PIR and LED based, changing flushes on the hundreds of toilets to water saving devices and encouraging the 500+ staff to up their recycling effort. In respect of the venue side of the business, efforts focused on; ensuring sustainable and, where possible, local sourcing of food ingredients, purchasing recycled paper for in-room flip charts, and ensuring plentiful and visible paper recycling units in all meeting rooms for disposal of all unwanted papers from the day.

As luck (or hard work) would have it, they were delighted to be awarded a Silver Award from the outset. They were pleased to maintain this at their 2015 audit but were hungry for gold. Their small dedicated Green Team worked hard over the next two years and were ecstatic to be rewarded with a gold plaque in September 2017. The path to gold was made up of innovative projects such as hosting Chelsea fringe events including participating in a ‘Gardens and Health in the City’ event, a ‘take the stairs initiative’ and the development of a staff gym. In addition, they have worked closely with the nominated BMA charity to assist in their fundraising and promote their good work.

Future focus will include greater promotion of healthy eating and the benefits of eating well at conferences, alongside the need for mindfulness using the BMA Garden as THE place for wellbeing. Providing sustainable and healthy meetings will continue to be a key focus for them in the future.”

BMA House

“Over the past 28 years Pennywell Farm has grown from a husband and wife team with a vision to a large visitor attraction employing up to 100 staff and attracting 75,000 visitors annually.

Pennywell is home to over 200 animals and giving a hands-on experience remains at the core of what they do, with a different activity, show or display every half an hour. Sustainable activities like plant-a-pot, willow weaving, pond dipping or catch a tiddler are an integral part of the visit.

With no mains water they have implemented strategies to reduce their dependence on external water sources like tankers. Since 2013 the site has been self-sufficient, using multiple bore holes, a UV filter system and 6 water towers with a solar powered pump for back up water supply.

As a farm attraction Pennywell Farm must provide visitors with hand washing facilities so investing in sensor taps and low flush toilets has reduced visitor water usage. Rainwater for the animals is collected in large troughs and goldfish keep the water clean. This helps to reduce the risk of worms in cattle and horses as well as the frequency the troughs need cleaning.

To recycle water they collect run off from the car park which is filtered through a natural reed bed system to remove pollution before feeding their wildlife ponds.

Their water management is something they are particularly proud of, it has reduced costs and mitigated environmental impacts of a site which requires a large water supply. ”

Pennywell Farm

“As farmers the owners of Hoe Grange Holidays preserve and support the living landscape. They love sharing the special Peak District countryside with guests and hope to inspire them to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, both on holiday and at home, to treasure the past and give the future a chance.

Their log cabins and gorgeous glamping pods are supplied with energy from an extensive network of renewable technologies which complement each other, including ground source heating, air source boilers for hot water, ground mounted PV solar tracking panels, a 10kw wind turbine, and a biomass boiler.

A warm welcome awaits with locally sourced Peak District goodies and home grown flowers. They make recycling easy, have hot bin composting, promote local artisan and eco-friendly businesses, and share their extensive knowledge of local attractions and traditions.

Star gazing maps enable guests to soak up the atmosphere of the dark skies, or they can relax in the log-fired hot tub, filled with pure mineral water from Hoe Grange’s own borehole, or peacefully watch the wildlife.

Guests are encouraged to undertake self-guided farm walks which highlight points of interest, such as lead mines, ancient ridge and furrow, and what wildlife and flora to look out for. Children can learn about where food comes from and help collect the eggs with Farmer David. You can even bring your horse on holiday!

As part of their mission to be fully inclusive Hoe Grange Holidays are proud to be the first and only UK accommodation to offer their own Boma 7 off-road wheelchair so guests with limited mobility can explore the countryside with family and friends.

The peace and tranquility means guests go home relaxed and refreshed with memories to treasure!”

Hoe Grange Holidays

“As a Grade II* Listed Victorian Gothic Mansion on the banks of the River Thames, The Oakley Court has found numerous innovative ways to maximise its sustainable ambitions. The 33 acre grounds include a nature trail, bug hotel, kitchen gardens, bee hives and a variety of wildlife habitats including swan nests and hedgehog homes.

Behind the scenes, they have installed Windsor's first CHP Unit, replaced all lighting with LED bulbs and undergone extensive waste and water management processes to ensure a sustainable ethos is behind all they do.

The 2 AA Rosette winning restaurant, The Dining Room, produces seasonal menus dictated by the home grown and local supply at any given time, whilst an innovative EVOGRO cabinet allows the chefs to grow micro herbs year round with minimal energy usage.

Guests are encouraged to get involved thanks to Self-Drive Electric Boat hire, 2 Tesla charging stations and electric car hire options. There is also complimentary bike hire for the whole family and wildlife signage around the grounds.

The hotels success is evident in their array of Green awards including maintaining Green Tourism Gold and wins at both the 2017 Catey Awards for 'Sustainable Business' and the 2017 AA Hospitality Awards for 'Eco Hotel of the Year'. Their ethos is fully ingrained in the entire team with continual improvements and ideas sought from the staff to further their sustainable mission.”

Oakley Court

“London Canal Museum began the road to "greendom" with some obvious things. Insulating the loft came first, and then they tackled the problem of where to store a recycling bin – more difficult than it sounds! Carpentry completed, they remodelled a cupboard and took advantage of a free recycling scheme for charities run by their local council.

A gradual approach to installing more energy efficient lighting was adopted in a building with a lot of lights. As bulbs failed they were replaced with energy-saving bulbs. Now they only ever fit LED and there are very few inefficient lights left. Water-saving taps were fitted to washbasins, and they adopted policies such as buying Fairtrade, buying water-based paint, eco-friendly cleaning materials, and recycled paper.

These things took London Canal Museum first to Bronze, and then to Silver Award level. But one big issue remained: heating. Old and very inefficient, their gas heating would never have let them strike Gold. After much consideration of the options they eventually decided to invest serious money into a new environmentally-friendly heating and cooling system powered by an air-sourced heat pump on the roof. Getting planning approval took a year of delay. The Chair of the Planning Committee didn't know what an air-sourced heat pump was, and they had to appeal against impossible conditions. Now London's air quality is just that bit better and their building is much more efficiently heated in winter, so London Canal Museum are hoping for a Gold Award next time they are visited by Green Tourism!”

London Canal Museum

“Over the past 12 months, the dedicated "Green Committee" at The Ritz London has been committed to promoting the future well-being of the environment and operating sustainably.

The hotel recently achieved a Gold Award from Green Tourism when the highest levels of sustainable actions were recognised across the hotel, including waste minimisation, social responsibility, energy saving and innovation. The Ritz Kitchen is also London's only 5* star hotel to have achieved the highest three-star rating from the Sustainable Restaurant Association, acknowledging the efforts in both reducing wastage and sourcing the freshest, seasonal ingredients available from local suppliers, enabling the shortest distance from farm to fork and thus reducing the carbon footprint. The kitchen has been recently renovated and now uses induction throughout with no gas, making it far more energy efficient.

Recognising that the hotel's day-to-day operations have an impact on the environment and their social responsibility, a few examples of new initiatives which have been recently implemented at The Ritz include:
- Beez @ The Ritz: Summer 2017 has seen the installation of three colonies of bees on the Piccadilly roof. The declining honeybee population in the UK has been widely documented and honeybees are essential to the ecosystem of our planet as pollinators. The Ritz has planted a roof garden of foliage with bee-friendly plants and flowers to help aid the pollination process.
- CleanConscience: The hotel's housekeeping department have partnered with CleanConscience, an innovative charity which recovers partly used soap and guest amenities and manually sorts, sterilises, reprocesses and distributes them globally.
- Cups: Every hotel colleague has been provided with a reusable thermos cup which has reduced the wastage of approximately 1,000 disposable cups a day (saving the hotel £11,000 a year to buy and another £4,000 to throw away).”

The Ritz London

“Walton Court Caravan and Camping Site is a small farm site on the Welsh border. They are passionate about recycling and reusing and are very proud of their Silver Green Tourism Award. An abundance of bird boxes/bat boxes and feeders and a bug hotel can be found on the site encouraging as much wildlife as possible and this year they have planted up a wild flower area around the pool.

Their shepherds hut provides accommodation for the green glamping experience. There is an onsite shop where they sell local produce for their guests, local honey from only half a mile away, local bacon, and Welsh cheeses, yoghurts, bread and eggs all locally sourced. The owner makes chutney, jams and marmalade from seasonal fruit. They buy eco products as much as they possibly can and make many home-made gifts such as cushions, quilts and pre-loved furniture that would have otherwise gone to landfill. These are made from a love of Welsh woollen fabrics and tweeds and velvets. They also have a book exchange!

The site has troughs and hanging baskets planted up with herbs and seasonal fruit and vegetables for their guests to enjoy whilst staying on the farm. There is a bus stop at the end of the drive so guests can let the bus take the strain and leave their car on the site when they go off to visit local towns and villages.”

Walton Court Caravan and Camping Site

“Whilst everything they do on their small croft and self-catering business is carefully considered with the environment in mind, the owners of Bluebell Croft Luxury Self Catering are particularly pleased with their efforts to reduce waste and food mileage.

They have four huge compost bins where they recycle kitchen organic waste as well as that from their six bedroomed holiday cottages. Added to this is green waste from the croft, manure from their sheep, geese and hens and any cardboard and paper that is not sent for recycling. This waste is then turned into the most wonderful and nutritious compost used on their vegetable plot and in the poly tunnel.

The fruit and vegetables they grow help them to be as self-sufficient as they can be and freshly grown produce is available for guests to purchase.

Excess produce is turned into an array of tempting jams, chutneys and preserves which they sell from a small roadside honesty box. They also reuse previously owned items such as clothing and natural beach found treasures, such as driftwood, shells and seaglass, turning them into quirky gifts and decorative pieces, also sold from the honesty box.”

Bluebell Croft Luxury Self Catering

“Brecon Retreat certainly have a passion for luxury accommodation, but evidently an even bigger passion for the environment. They aim to raise awareness of living greener and actively encourage guests to adopt a greener lifestyle. They believe that being green doesn't mean you should sacrifice on luxury – you can have both, and they've proved it!

Charging points are provided should you wish to arrive in an electric vehicle, or hire one during your stay. One is specific to Tesla and a universal charger for other vehicles. And, the best bit; all their electric comes from a 100% renewable energy source. So, whether you're charging your car, or soaking in bubbly hot tub, you can relax in the knowledge that it's not having a detrimental effect on the environment.

On arrival you can expect a luxury hamper of Fairtrade and handmade goodies. A variety of eco-friendly products and biodegradable consumables are also provided for your stay.

Voted as the No.1 dog-friendliest place to stay in the UK, it's good news for 4-legged members of the family; as they aren't just dog-friendly; they truly LOVE dogs and welcome all breeds to enjoy a 5 Star luxury experience at their self-catering properties. Pooches are lovingly welcomed with retreat luxuries too, including their own hamper containing eco-friendly goodies!

They're also one of the greenest destinations to stay - and we're not just talking about the lush green countryside! Brecon Retreat has been awarded a Green Tourism Gold Award - which makes them one of the 'Greenest Luxury Dog Friendly' destinations.”

Brecon Retreat

“Chatsworth has made clear strides in its sustainability journey. But did you know that the story of green energy at Chatsworth began over 100 years ago?

In 1893, Chatsworth became one of England's earliest remote private properties to be illuminated with electric lights. The electricity was generated by a hydroelectric turbine powered by water dropping 122m, through a 40cm iron pipe, from a lake above the house.

The hydroelectric turbine ran until 1936 when the house was connected to the National Power Network. In 1988 a new turbine was installed which, at the time of installation, generated a third of Chatsworth's electricity demand. This was replaced in 2017 with a 100kW turgo turbine.

In recent years, a number of other renewables have been installed across the estate. These include biomass, air-source and ground-source systems which help to heat the estate office, the house, holiday cottages and tenanted properties. There is also a combined heat and power plant supplying low carbon electricity and residual heat for the house, stables and greenhouses.

Thanks to this significant investment in renewable energies, Chatsworth will be producing its own green energy for years to come.”

Chatsworth House

“The Create Centre is an events venue that offers competitive prices on meeting rooms, their gallery and office space. They give concessionary rates to charities and promote sustainability to resident employees and the public whenever and however they can.

As proud winners of the Green Tourism Gold Star award in 2014, they've pushed themselves to achieve more. In 2015 Create hosted the Bristol 2015 Green Capital opening ceremony and were winners of the Bristol Post Green Leisure and Tourism Award, which they managed to retain in 2016. In 2017 they achieved gold status in the Best Conference Centre category at the Bristol and Southwest Fairtrade awards.

One of their recently completed green projects is their bike shed. Made mostly from cedar wood, it provides 40 additional spaces for visitors to lock their bikes. It's also topped with a fantastic green roof planted by The Conservation Volunteers.

The Eco-home is a permanent exhibition at Create. Built in 1996, its purpose is to demonstrate how to build and live sustainably. Weekly school visits and intrigued members of the passing public enable them to spread a message of how important it is for us to each do our small bit to prevent further damage to the earth and its inhabitants. Energy and waste reduction are the main topics throughout the Eco-home and in group visits as they believe everyone can make a positive change even if it's small.

Create is home to several sustainability driven organisations and this makes it a great place to work.”

Create Centre

“Gilmerton House has been in the possession of the Kinloch family since 1655 and has been operating as a 5 star exclusive use private venue for over 20 years. In February 2017 they were very proud to achieve the Green Tourism Gold Award.

As a pioneer in the field, Sir David Kinloch, the current owner and 13th baronet, has been operating a Biomass boiler system for nearly 30 years. The boiler, which provides heat and hot water for the entire property, burns recycled wood and cardboard from the estate and wood from local residents that would otherwise go to landfill.

The estate's 100 acres of woodlands provide a wonderful environment for the local wildlife. Over the last two decades thousands of hardwood trees have been planted throughout the estate's woodlands. Broken trees are left in place to provide drilling sites for local woodpeckers. In the past year they have also installed three bat boxes and a hedgehog house. The estate’s beehives produce delicious honey for house guests and for sale to the local community.

The historic kitchen garden, which had fallen into decline over several decades, is currently being revitalised. With the assistance of an enthusiastic band of volunteers, the garden is being transformed into a centre of gardening therapy and, when fully restored, will once again provide herbs, fruit, flowers and eggs for the house.”

Gilmerton House

“Lôn Lodges is celebrating receiving its second Gold Award from Green Tourism which has made their team very happy! Sustainable tourism is important to them.

Their two self-catering lodges were sustainably built using local timber and local craftsmen, they are incredibly insulated and have A rated boilers, air source heat pumps, solar panels and LED lighting, all contributing to a very low CO2 per bed night.

Situated in the heart of rural Mid Wales, on a traditional sheep farm, guests can enjoy exploring the wonderful landscape straight from the doorstep on their two Wildlife Farm Nature Trails, these walks will take you on a journey through the fields and you will explore the natural beauty of the land, wildlife, farm stock and heritage sites. Way markers guide you around the trails and maps give you the knowledge of what can be seen along the way. Their recommendation and top tip is to walk the Upland Hill Walk, once at the top the view will take your breath away!

Guests can also enjoy watching the wildlife from the lodge with bird feeders and nesting boxes sited around the garden.

A warm Welsh welcome or "Croeso" is given on arrival along with a complimentary bottle of local Welsh wine and Welsh cakes. Additional hamper goodies from the local delicatessen and prize winning meats from the butcher can be pre-ordered and delivered.”

Lôn Lodges

“Pollaughan Cottages are four beautifully presented cottages sitting on 22 acres of pasture land. Willows and Meadows cottages back onto stunning lakes filled with moor hens, wild ducks and Canadian wild geese. You can hear the owls as they fly back and forth from their boxes in the barns, the dragon flies are in abundance. The moor hens visit the apple trees every morning looking for their daily windfall. There is daily animal feeding with the goats and chickens and egg collecting for children when they come on their holidays.

The ethos at Pollaughan is to recycle and reuse everything, all eco cleaning products are used, and there is a large recycling area for guests. Composters and wormeries are available for everyone’s food scraps and all liquid waste goes to their ecological bio Digester.

A welcome box full of Cornish produce including homemade wheaten bread, Cornish brie, clotted cream shortbread and a cream tea with homemade jam and chilled prosecco will be waiting for when you arrive.

You can park the car and not use it again for the remainder of your holiday, the local walks are easily accessible, the beach is a five minute walk across the fields and great local food establishments a stone’s throw away. Welcome to Cornwall.....”

Pollaughan Cottages

“In 2017 The Celtic Manor Resort introduced a new combined heat and power plant (CHP) for the main hotel, continued an installation program of LED lamps and installed low flow shower heads as part of their ongoing bedroom refurbishments.

They’ve also invested in some new carbon saving technologies such as the Endocube into all of their walk-in fridges and freezers which have made a real difference. In all, carbon emissions are down by 381 tons so far this year.

Staff awareness & training have also been a strong focus with environmental training at induction and a new reporting system to try and enthuse staff to help reduce energy consumption and improve waste segregation. To date recycling rates have increased by 22% in 2017- from 32% in 2016 up to 54% this year. They have also made significant efforts to reduce travel impacts with electric cars onsite and car charging points for electric vehicles.

Further investment has been agreed for 2018, ensuring the completion of their LED program, a second CHP system at the Golf Club and the installation of 4x 100KW inverters for the underground car park to be linked to a main gas detection panel, all reducing their carbon emissions by a predicted further 640 tonnes a year.

The Celtic Manor Resort’s commitment to carbon reduction has resulted in a partnership with The Woodland Trust, offering guests the opportunity to offset carbon from their stay, allowing everyone, from staff to guests, to really make a difference while enjoying their time at the Resort.”

The Celtic Manor Resort

“Guests of Sandstone Trail Cottages with electric cars can now arrive safe in the knowledge that they can 'top up' whilst they relax.

Sandstone Trail Cottages, voted the 'Best Self Catering Provider in Cheshire' is working hard to develop and enhance its award-winning visitor offer.

As a Green Tourism Gold Award holder, the Cottages are investing in technology as part of its commitment to helping keep the countryside clean and healthy, and to support its aim to provide the best possible stay for visitors.

Sandstone Trail Cottages offers two cottages in Brown Knowl, Broxton, a village approximately nine miles south of Chester. The Commercial Charge Type 2 socket installed in the cottage's private car park is available for guests free of charge.

Jackie Pearson from Sandstone Trail Cottages, said: "We are delighted to be able to offer this facility free of charge to our guests, which really is a win-win situation. It enables guests with electric cars to enjoy their break knowing they are able to relax while they charge, and we benefit from enabling 'clean driving' around the beautiful countryside that surrounds our cottages. It's all part of our commitment to ensuring the best possible visitor experience.””

Sandstone Trail Cottages

“At The Rumblie they live green, so any activity they do is more than likely to have a green element.

When it became apparent that their oil boiler was not going to last much longer, they made the huge decision to install a biomass boiler for their heat & hot water, it's the "green thing" that they are most proud of but they also know that it's not without it's challenges and it does require more user interaction than an electric boiler would. Like many they also have Solar PV panels, and as they have an older electric meter they've watched it go "backwards" on a sunny day when dishwashers and washing machines have been on.

The Rumblie do lots of things that guests find quirky, like having a washbasin made from bamboo, building a huge "bug wall" that forms part of their boundary, eco kettles that some guests find "new" although they've had them since 2005. Every year for last 4 years they've had a delivery of native British bees from Dragonfli, and there is now evidence that they have native bee colonies established in the garden, they encourage wildlife and now have red squirrels visiting, their pond is now balanced and they have newts, toads & great diving beetles living in it.”

The Rumblie Guest House

“The Wesley is a certified social enterprise and an independent hotel that puts sustainability at the heart of their business. They believe that social goals and environmental concerns go hand in hand. Thus, their ethos and value of sustainable business growth is reflected in the action they take to generate profit. They give great attention from the way they recycle material to the products used in each of their departments.

In addition, the accolades that the Wesley has received, from different organisations, as well as the testament of their international student scholarships attest to their ethical and sustainable business practice. Some of the awards received:
• Camden Sustainability Award 2017: for water resource management and excellent energy efficiency and carbon reduction • Green Tourism Gold Award • IS014001 Certificates • Investors in People Gold

The Garage Café at The Wesley widely heralds and advocates their ethical and sustainable practices. The Garage goes above and beyond in ensuring that they are environmentally friendly; as such, they used their own resources to construct, design and create everything in The Garage. It has now become a very cosy place which caters a great service and promotes their social and environmental values.
Activities include:
• Ethical purchasing criteria – sourcing local products and using smaller businesses wherever possible • Using organic and free-range products wherever possible • Donate a coffee: customers can donate £1 to a fund, allowing homeless to redeem a free coffee • Use recycled materials to make furniture and other items • Only purchase and use recycled and biodegradable sundry items • Staff taking part in charity bike rides e.g. London to Brighton in June and September 2017”